We're big fans of John McCain here on this blog, because of his pathbreaking and bold leadership on Russia, urging the G-8 too kick Putin's dictatorship to the curb. So we were delighted to see McCain come under attack last week from the New York Times and the Huffington Post.

Huh?

Let us explain: What they've said is that McCain isn't being tough enough on Russia. And we happily agree.

The Times states:

A lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, has worked in recent years for a Ukraine politician, Viktor Yanukovich. Both Mr. McCain and the Bush administration supported the opponent of Mr. Yanukovich, who had close ties to Vladimir V. Putin, then the president of Russia and now prime minister. In a related development, Mr. McCain may have first become aware of Davis Manafort’s activities in Ukraine as far back as 2005. At that time, a staff member at the National Security Council called Mr. McCain’s Senate office to complain that Mr. Davis’s lobbying firm was undercutting American foreign policy in Ukraine, said a person with direct knowledge of the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity.

So the Times is blasting McCain for having somebody in his campaign who dared to commit the unpardonable sin of supporting the pro-Russia opposition in Ukraine as lobbyist.

It's odd, of course, that those on the left, who have often criticized McCain for being too tough on Russia, have suddenly seen the light, but apparently they have. The HuffPo even links these malignant Ukrainians with Iran. Ouch!

Please folks, keep up the good work. Reach out to your large audiences and ask them to push Senator McCain even farther to the right on Russia. Why stop at a paltry gesture like booting Russia out of the G-8? Why not go further? Russia has already been excluded from the WTO, why not eject it from the UN Security Council too? Why not commit to bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO within McCain's first year in office? We see McCain as having the best Russia policy available, but not the best in any objective sense.

This left-wing attack on McCain will have the added benefit of solidifying his support among his base, as they see the moonbats attempting to smear him by any means possible.

By the way, McCain denies that his office received any such warning as the Times reports.